Morrisons deal will not prevent Blockbuster job cuts

The deal by Morrisons to buy 49 Blockbuster stores and rebrand them as Morrisons M local convenience stores will not prevent any of the job cuts already announced by the DVD chain's administrators Deloitte even though the supermarket plans to reopen them by the summer.

The stores which have been bought are among 164 earmarked for closure by Deloitte last week, threatening around 800 jobs and following 168 shop closures and 760 job cuts that had already been announced.

Blockbuster, which had 528 stores and employed 4190 staff, collapsed into administration last month after struggling to adapt to the changing market and rivalry from internet retailers including Netflix, Amazon's LoveFilm and iTunes which now offers a movie rental service.